Coating process and apparatus



Aug. 9, 1932. c. E. YATr-:s ET AL I COATING PROCESS AND APPARATUS Filed May 17, 1928 INVENTOR arle Yate s Ha fry 6 Mcarm 4 l ATTORNEYS bm: Nw. \.I| \Y T- m; ww. \Q N) m Q Q w N w f@ o.. Q --...M--.. M........U--.. w..-.- ...A ....wwi... m\ l l- Q .am

Patented Aug.. 9, 1932 lihlt CHARLES E. YATES, OF EAST R'UTIHERFORD, AND HARRY C. MACAN, 0F RUTHEIRFOBD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNORS T0 ANACOND SALES COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, IN'. Y., A

CORPORATION OF DELAWARE COATING PROCESS AND APPARATUS Application led May '17,

This invention relates to the art of applying coatings to articles, and is concerned more -particularly with a method and apparatus for the application of coating materials' to articles of uniform size which are to be treated in large quantities. This method and apparatus are of especial utility in connection with the application of coating materials to obJects so as to produce a coating of irregular shading and coloration, and an adaptation of the invention for that purpose will presently be described for purposes of illustration, although it will be apparent that the utility of the invention is not limited to the production of coatings of this character.

The invention is particularly useful in connection with the manufacture of metal-clad building-products, such as so-called copper clad shingles which consist of a base of nonmetallic material, such as asphalt-impregnated roofing felt and a layer of copper which is applied to cover that part of the felt which is normally exposed to the weather. These copper clad products are highly satisfactory in Ause because of their resistance to lire and weather, btrtjf the copper is giyen no finishing treatment, then after a period of exposure its bright red color becomes darkened, due to the weathering action, and passes through various stages of discoloration before it attains the final pleasing green shade peculiar to copper which has been eX- posed for a long time. During this period of transition, the appearance of a roof covered with copper clad shingles is quite unattractive, so much so that it is a customary practice to avoid this change in coloration by treating the products after the copper has been applied to the bases so as to alter the surface appearance. This is done by the use of solutions. such as sal-ammoniac, among others, which is sprayed or otherwise applied to the copper surface and forms colored copper compounds. In such treatment, the entire copper surface of the metal is colored so that the shingles have a uniform color and shade. such as light green. 1While this makes a satisfactory roof, in some instances the householder prefers to have a roof which is of irregular coloration such as may be pro- 1928. Serial No. 278,437.

duced by the presence of non-uniform areas of dierent colors or shades.

To produce this irregular shading of the roof in ordinary felt roofing products, it has been customary to use felt shingles which have a granular wear surfacing of slate of different colors, these shingles then being laid so as to break up the areas of a single color. Heretofore this result has not been obtainable with a metal-clad roofing because the treatment given the metal roduces a uniform color effect. 'It is the object of this invention therefore to provide a process and apparatus by which metal-clad shingles, especially those having a copper coating, can be given a color which varies due to its being applied in an irregular or non-uniform manner, the entire surface of the metal of each shingle being treated. however, so as to avoid the discoloration effects previously mentioned.

According to the invention, the shingles are treated while in movement, and are first subjected to a treatment which produces a ground shade 'on the metal. This shade may vary in accordance with the final color effect to be produced, but it is applied in such a.

manner that parts of the metal of each shingle are untreated and the disposition of these untreated parts is not the same in different shingles. Thereafter, the shingles are given a second treatment which produces a surface coloration extending over the parts previously treated, as well as the untreated part, and the coloration produced by the s'econd treatment thus varies in different parts of each shingle, dependent upon whether the outward appearance results from the single treatment alone, or from the combination of the two treatments.

To produce the desired edect, the shingles are preferably passed by a nozzle operating intermittently to discharge a solution producing the, ground shade on the metal. The shingles are moved past the nozzle at irregular intervals having no relation to the intermittent operation of thenozzle, and accordingly different parts of the successive shingles are sprayed while other parts are untreated, and the disposition of the ,un-

treated areas on successive shingles is entirely without uniformity. Thereafter the shingles are moved past a second nozzle which is continuously in operation and which discharges a solution which produces another coloration upon the metal. This nozzle, being in continuous operation, produces a color effect which overlies that produced by the previous treatment, and the solutions are selected so that the ground shade and the surface coloring combine to give a total effect different from that produced when the surface coloring is used alone. x As an example, the preliminary treatment may produce dark areas on the metal, while the second treatment produces a surface coloration covering the dark as well as the untreated areas of the metal. In the final roduct therefore the surface coloring will llave different shades, dependent on whether it is applied directly to the metal or to an area of the metal which has been given the preliminary treatment, and as the ground shade has been applied irregularly it follows that in the final product the shingles will have areas of light and dark shades and these areas will vary throughout a succession of shingles. Then,

when the shingles are laid in the usual manner on the roof, there results a mottled coloration highly attractive in appearance.

A better understanding of the invention may be had by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts in the several views, and in which Figure 1 isan elevation of apparatus which may be used in practising the process of the invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same;

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate multiple shingles as partially coated in accordance with this invention;

Figure 5 illustrates a portion of the shading material applicator;

Figure 6 illustrates a washing means;

Figure 7 shows an air-blast drying means;

Figurey 8 shows one form of applying the coliring material by means of an air blast; an

-Figure 9 is a sectional view showing the mounting of certain parts of the apparatus.

In Figs. 3 and 4 is shown ay conventional form of roofing element 1, which is laid with others in overlapping courses so that the tabs 2 are exposed as far as the basespof slits 3 thereby simulating the effect of separate shingles. These elements usually comprise an impregnated rooting felt base 4` which is electroplated with copper 5 over that part of thevsurface which is exposed to the weather. It is .this layer of metal which is to receive asurface coloration.

Apparatus for the application of the coating material is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and includes a conveyor having an endless belt 6 the conveyor 6 is another conveyor 12 ofI much less length, which passes over pulleys 13 and 14 mounted in suitable standards 15 and 16, the pulley 13 being driven from the shaft of pulley 11 by means of a belt 17. The shingles are placed on the conveyor belt 6 with their -metal faces all at the same side and they are fed tothe belt without regard to their spacing, so that they lie at irregular intervals. They are supported in upright position in their movement on the belts 6 and 12 by pairs of upper and lower guides 18 and 19 which are mounted above the belts and support the elements in position without obscuring the metal surface which is to be treated.

- One method of practicing the invention in connection with copper clad products in volves the application of a sulphide solution to the metal to produce `theground shade, this'solution reacting with the copper to produce dark areas. The mechanism for applying this ground shade solution is placed at one side of the path of travel of` the elements along the conveyor, and the mechanism includes a pipe 20 which delivers the solution to a nozzle 21. As shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the solution is sprayed from nozzle 21 by compressed air supplied thereto byl compressed air pipe 22 which is preferably arranged adjacent sulphide pipe 20 in a suity able frame 23, as shown in Fig. 9. Nozzle 21 is intermittently opened and closed bythe action of a cam 24 u on a series of pivoted levers, 25 and 26, which accordingly actuate spring-restrained valve lever 27 of nozzle 2,1. This mechanism is mounted in a suitable standard 28, and is driven by belt 29 from shaft 30 which carries a pair of friction wheelsv 31 engaging and being driven by the lower course of conveyor 6. Shaft 30 is mounted in suitable standards 32. The intermittent spraying of the sulphide upon the surfages ofthe irregularly spaced elements 1 as as they are carried past the sprayby conveyor 6. produces the effect illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, in which the shaded portions represent the sulphide-shaded areas. It is preferable that approximately two-thirds to three-fourths of the area of the surface which is to be exposed when the elements are laid, be thus non-uniformly coated.

After this first treatment the elements 1 are carried past a water spray issuing from pipe 33, as shown in Fig. 6, where the surplus y sulphide is removed, and from there to the In passing from conveyor 6 to conveyor 12,

Lamme elements l are given their final coloring coating, which is uniformly applied over the mety al covering the entire'area thereof. The thin coloring matter, which may be called paint for convenience, issues as a continuous spray from nozzle 85 arranged adjacent the path of the elements 1. In Figs. l and 2 there is illustrated a method for supplying the paint under pressure to nozzle 35 through pipe 36 issuing from a force pump 37. Force pump 37 may be of the intermeshing gear type, the shaft 38 of which is driven by belt 39 from the shaft of pulley 14. Pump 371 and associated parts are mounted in suitable standards 40. By means of this arrangement the spraying of the paint ceases when the conveyor stops, and by having the painted elements 1 transferred to short conveyor 12, the excess paint is confined to the short conveyor so that no paint can reach the shingles before they receive their preliminary treatment. The paint spray may also be delivered by an air blast, as is illustrated by Fig. 8, in which the paint supplied by pipe 41 is carried by the compressed air in pipe 42 into pipe 43 and nozzle 35. A target or plate 44 is preferably arranged opposite nozzle 35 in order to prevent the paint, which sprays through the spaces between elements 1, from spreadlng.

We claim:

1.. The process of coating metal aticles Which consists in passing irregularly spaced articles under an intermittent spray of a coating material forming darker areas thereon, said material having a chemical aiinity for the metal article, and passing the articles under a uniform spray of a dierent coating material through which the darker areas are visible.

2. The process of coating a metal article, which comprises the successive steps of applying non-uniformly to the article coating material having a chemical affinity for the metal article, and then applying a different coating material uniformly over the article and which substantially preserves the eii'ect produced by the first material.

3. |llhe process of coating a metal article, which comprises the successive steps of applying non-uniformly to the article coating material having a chemical ainity for the metal article, removing the surplus coating material from the surface of the article, and

then applying a different. coating material uniformly over the article and which suby stantially preserves the effect produced by the iirst material.

' metal article, Washing` the surface of the article to remove the surplus .coating material therefrom, and then apnlvmg a different and which substantially preserves the e'ect l produced by the lirst material.

6. The process of coating metal articles, which comprises moving an intermittent spray and irregularly spaced articles relatively to each other, said spray applying to the article a non-uniform coating of mate-l rial having a chemical anity for the metal article, and then spraying the article uniformly with a diderent coating material Which substantially preserves the eli'ect produced by the first material.

7. The process of coating metal articles, which comprises moving an intermittent spray and irregularly spaced'articles relatively-to each other, said spray applying to the article a non-uniform coating of material having a chemical anity for the metal article, moving the articles and a cleansing s ray relatively to eachother to remove surp us rst material from the articles, and then moving the articles and a second uniform spray of di'erent coating material relatively to each other, said second material being chemically inert with. respect to the irst material and the metal article and substantially preserving the e'ect of the first material.

8. The process of coating an article having a copper metal'sur'face, which com risesapplying a sulphide solution non-uni ormly to the surface of the article, said solution reacting chemically vvith the copper metal to produce a mottled eHect, and then applying a uniform coatin of coloring material to the surface of the article through which the mottures.

CHARLES E. YATES. HARRY C. CAN. 

